NBA orders US betting operators to axe popular wagering markets
The NBA has ordered its authorised sportsbook partners to stop offering several popular betting markets ahead of the 2026–27 season, including first basket scorer bets and certain player performance parlays.
The restrictions, announced on October 16, are designed to reduce opportunities for match manipulation following a series of gambling investigations involving professional basketball players.
Major US sportsbooks, including DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics, will be required to remove the affected markets from their NBA betting offerings.
Among the prohibited bets are wagers on which player scores the first basket, makes the first three-pointer or records the first rebound, assist, steal or block.
Sportsbooks will also be prohibited from accepting bets on which team wins the opening tip-off or whether a particular player misses a specific shot attempt.
The NBA has additionally banned parlays combining multiple statistical unders involving the same player.
For example, customers will no longer be able to combine bets on a single player recording fewer than a specified number of points, rebounds and assists in the same parlay.
Unders involving players expected to participate for fewer than 12 minutes will also be prohibited.
The restrictions do not represent a complete ban on betting against a player’s statistical performance. Standard under bets involving regular rotation players can continue to be offered.
The changes follow investigations into suspicious betting activity involving former NBA players.
Former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter was banned from the league for life in 2024 after an investigation found that he had disclosed confidential information to gamblers and deliberately limited his participation in games to influence betting outcomes.
Porter subsequently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Former Miami Heat player Terry Rozier has also faced federal charges relating to alleged betting manipulation during his time with the Charlotte Hornets.
Rozier has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
The NBA believes restricting markets that can be influenced by individual actions will make it more difficult for players or associates to manipulate betting outcomes.
The league is also introducing additional monitoring and education measures.
All NBA players, coaches and training staff will be required to attend in-person education sessions covering gambling rules and integrity obligations, with former NFL player and FBI agent Charles Tillman to lead the training programme.
The NBA has also developed an enhanced monitoring system using artificial intelligence to examine betting patterns, injury information and other data for suspicious activity.
Additional measures will address harassment and threats directed at players by disgruntled gamblers.
The restrictions will apply throughout the 2026–27 NBA season, which begins on October 20, and will extend to the WNBA in 2027.
However, the changes do not automatically apply to prediction market platforms operating outside the NBA’s sportsbook agreements, with this distinction becoming increasingly important as prediction markets expand their sports-related products in the United States.
